ONONDAGA COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY Annual Meeting

from Onondaga County Medical Society December 2019 Bulletin

PRESIDENT ’S Page

ONONDAGA COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY Annual Meeting

NOVEMBER 7, 2019

Photos taken at the Annual Dinner are posted on the Onondaga County Medical Society Facebook page. If you haven’t done so already, please like us on Facebook!

The Onondaga County Medical Society’s annual dinner meeting was held on Thursday, November 7, at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Syracuse, Destiny USA.

Justin Fedor, D.O., was installed as the Medical Society’s 192nd president. He succeeds MaryAnn Millar, M.D. Other Executive Council officers installed that evening include: Joseph Spinale, D.O., President Elect; Robert Dracker, M.D., Vice President; Michael Sheehan, M.D., Treasurer; and Barry Rabin, M.D., Secretary.

Drs. Ramsay Farah, LouAnn Giangreco, Barbara Krenzer, William Schreiber, and Kevin Walsh will serve as Members-at-Large of the Medical Society Executive Council for the 2019-2020 term; Drs. Richard Beers, LouAnn Giangreco, Ruth Hart, MaryAnn Millar, Digant Nanavati, Barry Rabin and Richard Semeran were elected Delegates to MSSNY; Drs. Jef Sneider, Brian Johnson, David Page, Philip Kaplan, Robert Corona and Darvin Varon will serve as MSSNY Alternate Delegates; and Dr. Sunny Aslam will serve as Representative for Upstate Medical University. Dr. Sarah Gregory was appointed Resident Representative and Dominic Facciponte will serve as Medical Student Representative of the Medical Society Executive Council.

Onondaga County Medical Society service awards and the Jerry Hoffman Advocacy award were presented that evening. Following is the full text of the awards presented to our 2019 honorees:

Onondaga County Medical Society

Presented To

HEALTHECONNECTIONS

Rob Hack (3rd from left), President and CEO, accepted the Distinguished Service Award on behalf of HealtheConnections.

Know all by these presents that HealtheConnections is held in high esteem for distinguished service to physicians, hospitals, patients and the community.

Back in 2005, a regional collaborative of leaders in health care, business, and insurance convened to address shared concerns about health care access, quality, and costs in Central New York. Their vision was a connected network of information that would ultimately improve the quality of care available at a lower cost.

The Health Advancement Collaborative of Central New York, a collaboration of physicians, hospitals, health plans, businesses, and consumer leaders, worked together to build trust and reach consensus on identifying initiatives and opportunities which would deliver cost efficiencies and care improvement in the Central New York region. Its highest priority turned to the building of

a regional health information organization (RHIO) for Central New York, which would provide health information exchange (HIE) services to regional health and healthcare organizations. In 2010, the organization launched itself as HealtheConnections – with representatives of Onondaga County Medical Society providing physician leadership and direction. Together, a solid foundation was laid demonstrating the power of cooperation in support of a common goal.

Since then, HealtheConnections has maintained its focus on supporting physicians, licensed staff, and other health and healthcare support resources, working in tandem with regional stakeholders to drive improved quality of care, develop time-saving technologies, reduce margin for error, and lower costs. Onondaga County – the county hub of healthcare in the eleven counties of central and northern New York – was an important advocate and adopter of HealtheConnections’ services for improved regional care.

As a member of the Statewide Health Information Network of New York (SHIN-NY), HealtheConnections works in partnership with RHIOs throughout the state to bridge informational gaps across regions and ensure health and healthcare professionals have the information they need at the point of care, wherever that may be. New York state is one of the leaders in HIE implementation and innovation throughout the United States, and HealtheConnections has earned its place among the top-performing HIEs in the country.

In 2019, HealtheConnections officially grew to the largest geographic and multi-region NYS HIE. It successfully and efficiently merged the HIE of the Southern Tier and Hudson Valley into its operations to now span 26 counties of New York State. This service area stretches from the west of Rochester, east to Utica and Rome, north to the Canadian border, south to Pennsylvania, and now eastward through the Leatherstocking region to upper Hudson Valley and north of New York City supporting Rockland and Westchester.

Currently, there are more than 1,300 participating organizations across more than 3,400 locations, serving 10,000 doctors. On average, 4,500 users access the myConnections portal each month, with thousands more receiving health information directly into their own EMR system and sharing patient information quickly and securely to improve care delivery through the entire region. HealtheConnections has also worked with more than 1,000 providers to assist them with obtaining Meaningful Use designation and incentives.

Collaboration and partnership has been the cornerstone of HealtheConnections’ success, and the Onondaga County Medical Society is proud that our members have been significant contributors to HealtheConnections’ growth. Together, we have made a difference for patients and physicians!

The Onondaga County Medical Society is pleased to confer upon HealtheConnections its Distinguished Service Award for 2019.

CITATION OF AWARD FOR PHYSICIAN SERVICE TO THE MEDICAL SOCIETY

Presented To

ROBERT DRACKER, M.D.

Dr. Frank Smith (left), presented the award for Physician Service to the Medical Society to friend and colleague Dr. Robert Dracker.

Dr. Robert Dracker, you are being recognized for your significant contributions and continued service to the Onondaga County Medical Society and the Medical Society of the State of New York.

Your academic background is nothing short of exceptional. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from NYU, you attended medical school at the SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse, where you graduated Alpha Omega Alpha with honors. You completed a residency and fellowships in Pediatrics, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and

Transfusion Medicine, then obtained a Master’s degree in Health Services Management (MHA) and a Master’s degree in business administration (MBA). You are board certified in Pediatrics, Transfusion Medicine, and as a Certified Physician Investigator and are also certified in Managed Care Medicine and in Quality Assurance and Utilization Review.

You have been an active member of the Onondaga County Medical Society (OCMS) since joining in 1988, serving on our Executive Council for 10 years before becoming the OCMS President in 2009. During your term you were a strong presence in the media and an active and vocal advocate on behalf of your colleagues and the children in our community, as you remain today.

As president of OCMS, you initiated an effort that encouraged physicians to donate to the White Coat Ceremony fund at Upstate College of Medicine to show their support for future physicians, and each year you continue to be a generous contributor and strong supporter of this time-honored tradition. Your own dedication to medical students is apparent, as you are now president of the Alumni Foundation of the SUNY College of Medicine.

You began a tradition of personally sponsoring the OCMS Retired Physician’s luncheon each year, and you attend the event whenever possible to thank your colleagues and former mentors for helping you along your career path. In recognition of the inspiring contributions of the physicians who contributed to your own development, it was your idea to include a category for Retired Physician Service to the Community in our Medical Service Awards.

Currently you serve as Chairman of the Heart, Lung and Cancer Committee for the Medical Society of New York State, a position you have held since 2015. You also serve on the boards of many other esteemed organizations and agencies.

Your dedication to our organization is clear, and the Onondaga County Medical Society is pleased and honored to recognize you as the 2019 recipient of the Society’s Award for Physician Service to the Medical Society.

CITATION OF AWARD FOR PHYSICIAN SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

Presented To

SUNNY ASLAM, M.D.

Dr. Sunny Aslam, you are being honored tonight by the Onondaga County Medical Society not only for your contributions to the community in the field of addiction psychiatry, but for your past and ongoing work with addicted and chronically psychiatrically ill patients in Syracuse.

As an addiction psychiatrist at Upstate Medical University’s Psychiatry department, you teach and work at the Upstate Addiction and Pain Management Clinic.

In your free time—and without payment—you make rounds to the shelters at the Rescue Mission and Catholic Charities and travel the streets of Syracuse with John Tumino of In My Father’s Kitchen to do outreach to individuals who are homeless. You also join volunteers each year for the Point-in-Time (PIT) count, hitting the Syracuse streets on a single, freezing day and night in January, part of a national effort to help the federal government track the rates of homelessness and direct funding for shelters and services to those regions with greatest need. Dr. Sunny Aslam (left), Physician Service to the Community Award recipient, with Medical Student Robertha Barnes.

You form relationships with individuals living on the street who are often unconnected to shelters and service agencies. Your treat each person with dignity and respect, slowly building trust and hope, handing out your cell phone number to those who will take it in the hopes that in the future they will come to you for assistance. Many of those you care for suffer from mental illness and drug and alcohol addiction, and you have been an invaluable part of the team dedicated to caring these patients as they progress in their treatment for schizophrenia and recovery from addiction.

You are continually on the lookout for efforts to secure grants to provide more access to services, including peer specialists, for addicted and psychiatric patients who are homeless in Onondaga County. You have a vision for funding a psychiatric care and addiction treatment program which would be part of Upstate’s medical school and engage medical students in learning and providing medical care to individuals who are homeless.

Your sense of compassion for others was fostered through observing your father, a vascular surgeon in rural Maine, who was known for caring for patients who could not pay. Today you continue to honor your father’s philosophy of unconditional care for anyone who needs your assistance, as well as mirroring his devotion to family. When you are not working tirelessly for the disadvantaged and underserved populations, you have said you are most likely to be spending time with your daughters “at gymnastics meets with Haya (6) and softball games watching Ayesha (14) strike out batter after batter.”

Your actions bring honor to all you serve and to the medical profession itself, and we are grateful for your service.

The Onondaga County Medical Society is pleased and proud to present to you the 2019 Award for Physician Service to the Community.

CITATION OF AWARD FOR COMMENDABLE SERVICE BY A RETIRED PHYSICIAN TO THE COMMUNITY

Presented to

FREDERICK PARKER, J.R., M.D.

Dr. Frederick Parker, you have long been recognized for your excellence in patient care and passionate philanthropy.

A true son of Upstate New York, you were born and raised in Lowville, attended college and medical school at the University of Rochester, then did

Frederick Parker Jr., MD, Retired Physician Service to the Community Award recipient

In the 1960’s, cardiac surgery (starting with such procedures as closed mitral commissurotomy) had a very high mortality rate, which remained high when open heart surgery with the aid of the cardiopulmonary bypass machine was first added. You were recruited in 1971 by Dr. Watts Webb to assist in the development of a cardiac surgery program at Upstate University Hospital, and the result of this partnership was that more patients at Upstate began to survive heart surgery.

In 1976 you became Chief of Cardiothoracic and Program Director of the Residency in Thoracic Surgery, bringing high quality cardiac surgical care to the Central New York region. In 1991 you were appointed Chair of the Department of Surgery at Upstate and led it into the modern era of surgical care. Many surgeons of all kinds in our county and beyond benefitted from your leadership and superb role modeling.

Since your retirement in 2001 you have devoted yourself to philanthropic causes, raising countless dollars for funds and programs that serve our community. You are a dedicated member of the University of Rochester alumni community and former chairman and past president of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. In addition, you have supported your wife, Virginia “Ginny” Parker, in her efforts to start a Montessori school in Syracuse and to advocate for Syracuse Stage.

As Professor Emeritus you remain involved in the educational and service missions of Upstate, currently serving as Vice Chair of the Upstate Foundation Board. You received the President’s Award for Excellence in Philanthropy in 2015 and the President’s Award for Faculty Service in 2019.

Your ongoing legacy to the medical staff of Upstate and the greater regional medical community is one of service, humility, generosity and good citizenship. The Onondaga County Medical Society is honored to present you with the 2019 Commendable Service by a Retired Physician to the Community Award.

CITATION OF AWARD FOR ORGANIZATION SERVICE TO MEDICAL CARE

Presented To

SHE MATTERS®

The She Matters® program is an Upstate Cancer Center community outreach program operated in conjunction with the Syracuse Housing Authority. The program uses Resident Health Advocates (RHAs) who live in public housing to educate their peers and to encourage their neighbors to be annually screened for breast cancer. The goal is to reduce breast cancer health disparities seen in low-income women, with a specific focus on African American women, as their tumors are all too often found at a later, more advanced stage when there are fewer treatment options. Dr. Lisa Lai (far left) presented the Award for Organization Service to the Community to She Matters® staff members (l to r): Linda Veit, Rachel Ryan, Liz Fuertes-Binder and Janet Bacon.

The Onondaga County Community Profile Report identifies low income, inner-city African American women as those most at risk of early onset breast cancer and having the highest levels of late stage diagnosis. Their difficult lives pose challenging barriers to care and equitable healthcare programs such as She Matters® are vital to addressing such barriers. She Matters® focuses on women living in Syracuse Housing Authority locations and other lowerincome areas, including women who reside in Pioneer Homes, Toomey Abbot and Oliver Almus, James Geddes, Ross Tower, and Vinette Tower public housing complexes.

The She Matters® RHAs are continually trained by Upstate staff and, with close oversight, have become knowledgeable about breast cancer and screening. They provide support by going to appointments with patients and staying in the waiting room until the mammogram is completed. RHAs also make annual

The She Matters® program has been in existence for six years with over 600 mammograms completed and over 3,000 women receiving breast cancer education. Upstate’s breast cancer professionals guide any women with suspicious findings through appropriate treatment and care at Upstate. Through collaborative community partners, women will access free and lowcost medical services as well as other resources to alleviate financial and other barriers to care. This unique, targeted public health partnership between Upstate Medical University and Syracuse Housing has helped to bridge the gap for underserved women. Given that with early detection of breast cancer there is a 93% chance of survival, the She Matters® program has doubtless saved lives along the way.

The Onondaga County Medical Society is honored to recognize She Matters® as the 2019 recipient of the Society’s Award for Organization Service to Medical Care.

JERRY HOFFMAN ADVOCACY AWARD

Presented To

ZACHARY VISCO OCMS MEDICAL STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE AND UPSTATE AMA CHAPTER PRESIDENT

Zachary Visco, tonight we celebrate your advocacy efforts on behalf of American Medicine.

Your mother, a pharmacist, and father, a physician, showed you the importance of advocating for others at an early age, and you

Zachary Visco, Jerry Hoffman Advocacy Award recipient, is pictured left with his parents, Dr. Anthony and Jessica Visco.

have said that it was their example that led you to pursue a career in medicine and to “learn how to use my voice and my time to elevate and benefit others.”

When you were an engineering undergraduate at Duke University, you volunteered at Duke Children’s Hospital, where you first began working directly with patients. As a SUNY Upstate Medical student you continued to volunteer with children as a member of PedsPals, a program providing Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital patients with tutoring and mentorship.

You first served as the MS1 Student Representative for Upstate’s AMA chapter, then as its President. During your time as Representative and President, you have worked tirelessly to recruit student members. You sent a representative to the AMA annual meeting and reviewed policy resolutions for floor debate at the Medical Society of the State of New York medical student meetings.

It was Dr. Brian Johnson, Past President of the Onondaga County Medical Society (OCMS), who first encouraged you to become active in the Society as a member of his new Innovations Committee, which was formed to find novel solutions to healthcare problems. Since then you have been a dedicated, insightful member of several other OCMS boards, sharing the Medical Student perspective with physicians on the OCMS Bylaws, Long Range Planning, and Legislative Advocacy Committees. You have been an involved and reliable Medical Student Representative to the Onondaga County Medical Society Executive Council, and we consider ourselves fortunate to have you as a student member.

As OCMS Medical Student Representative, you spoke to legislators at our annual Legislative Forum about the need to increase the cap on residency positions, and recruited other medical students to speak about the importance of equal access to health care and the need for increased vaccine coverage. You have worked to provide opportunities for your peers to engage with the physicians and advocate for issues that impact them and others in their communities.

You have pledged to continue your advocacy work throughout the rest of your medical career, and it is fitting that you, with your passion for advocacy and community, are the 2019 recipient of the Jerry Hoffman Advocacy Award.

Thank You Physicians Foundation

The Onondaga County Medical Society would like to thank the Physicians Foundation for once again sponsoring 20 Upstate Medical Student tickets to our Annual Awards Dinner. What a great way to introduce our future physicians to the benefits that collegial physicians’ organizations offer in terms of leadership, networking and advocacy.